


A Safe Place to Land

by Spiky_lesbians



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Canon trauma seen and mentioned, Canon-Typical Violence, Dad Hotch, Gen, Kid Derek, Kid Emily, Kid Fic, Kid Penelope, Kid Spencer, Mom Blake, Team as Family, adoption/mixed family au, family au, kid Jennifer, no beta we die like men, uncle Rossi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:07:17
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29358459
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiky_lesbians/pseuds/Spiky_lesbians
Summary: This is about the Hotchner household and all the trauma within it. A lot of bad things happen but they’ll get through it together. This group is a bit dysfunctional but they love each other.Family is as family does.Or: The one where the BAU is an actual family. Brought to you by my own head-canon.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 37





	1. Monday

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This isn’t my first story but it is my first on here. I’m just started Criminal Minds a couple months ago and I’m only on season 11 so the characters and plot will change with what I’ve watched. This is basically the written version of my sims4 CM household.
> 
> **UPDATE: I didn’t like how short chapter one was so I just added on. More coming soon (hopefully). Sorry it took so long, life is hectic. The last couple weeks have been prop and costume week for the show I’m in and the show I’m stage manager if for so I’ve been busy.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Introductions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t like how short chapter one was so I just added on. More coming soon (hopefully). Sorry it took so long, life is hectic. The last couple weeks have been prop and costume week for the show I’m in and the show I’m stage manager if for so I’ve been busy.

“Derek, Emily, guys, you're gonna miss the bus.”  
A chorus of “coming” filters through the once quiet Hotchner house. “1, 2, 3, 4- where’s Spencer.”  
“I don’t know,” said JJ, finishing the rest of her second French braid. “When I checked on him earlier he was rereading War and Peace. He had his clothes on and his bag was by the door.”

Hotch walks up the stairs to Spencer’s room. Upon entering the purple room, he found a sleeping six-year-old wearing a sweater vest. The worn book in its original Russian nestled between his small arms. He looked so innocent asleep. The world and its problems couldn’t get to him when he was asleep. Neither of them had to worry about 7th grade bullies or the affect middle school has on a kid not even close to puberty. Hotch sighed and kissed Spencer’s forehead. _He probably didn’t sleep much last night._ Hotch walked back down the stairs and hoarded the rest of the kids out the door.  
-  
“You’re gonna pick us up today, right.”  
“I’m Sorry, Sweetheart, I have a Case. Your aunt Elle will pick you guys up today.”  
“Oh,” sighs Penelope, dressed in her favorite yellow dress with pink stars. “Will Cousin Kate be there?”  
“You’ll find out when you get there.”  
“I hope she is, cousin Kate always lets me play with her computer.”  
“Derek, you have football practice today after school.”  
“Until 6:00.”  
“I remember”  
The school bus pulls up. Hotch says goodbye and watches them get on the bus. Once the bus leaves he goes home to get Spencer.  
-  
“Yes, yes, I understand. Spencer is already ahead of the class, he won’t miss anything but seat time. I understand that but you need to understand that I don’t want him falling asleep during class. You know what happened hit him harder than most. Thank you, I’ll be sure to do that.” The call ends right as Hotch steps back into Spencer’s room. “Hey Spencer,” he gently shakes him awake. “I need you to get up buddy.”  
Spencer wakes, blinking at the blinding light from the sun. “Did I miss it, I’m sorry.”  
“It’s ok Spencer just make sure it doesn’t happen again.”  
“It wouldn’t be smart for me to promise you that because I can’t fix my sleep problems,” Spencer said, fidgeting with his bed sheets. “40% of children my age suffer from Insomnia.”  
“I called the school, they are allowing you to miss the day.”  
“No!,” he said, agitated because of lack of sleep. “We’re learning about genetics today in science.”  
“Spencer,” Hotch spoke, calm, to not further upset his youngest kid. He gets down to Spencer’s height. “Would you feel better if after you nap you get to see grandpa Gideon,” Hotch asked, hoping it would convince him to sleep.  
“Grandpa and I have to finish that chess game we were playing.”  
“Is that a yes. Will you take a nap for me?”  
“Only if you’ll stay until I fall asleep”  
“Of course”

***

“Derek, can you read the next page,” the English teacher, Ms. Hopkins said.  
“Sure thing, ma’am,” he said while turning to page 242 of _Graceling_. He glanced at the page in front of him and snickered with his friend before starting to read.  
-  
“Emily Hotchner, you will stop this foolishness immediately,” Ms. Rodgers said angrily in response to the prank Emily had just pulled. “Your father will hear about this!”  
-  
“That’s correct, JJ,” Ms. Seaver said, smiling at the blonde girl before her. “Great job! I can tell you’ve been practicing.”  
-  
“I want all of you to draw me a big circle and start writing the numbers 1-12 around the inside,” Ms. Todd spoke softly to the group of second graders. “Penelope, please use a pencil sweet girl.”  
“But pencils don’t write in color.” Ms. Todd sighs. “What about colored pencils?”  
“Deal.”

***

“Hey Dad, thank you for taking him. I would keep him home but I have a trial at 9:45,” Hotch said while Spencer looked around the Bullpen in awe.  
“It’s no problem Aaron, it’s a paper work day today and if all goes well it will stay that way,” Gideon aired a light chuckle. “Spencer, do you want to finish that chess game?” Spencer nods excitedly and walks towards Gideon. “Bye, dad!” Spencer gives a small wave.  
“Bye, Spencer. Bye, dad.” Gideon nods towards Hotch and leads the younger one to his office. Hotch watches as a very talkative Spencer starts telling his grandpa about the history of chess. He lets that proud feeling wash over him before leaving the building and going back to his car.

Before he can even move the gear stick, he gets a call. Recognizing the number as Emily’s science teacher, he answers. “Hotchner,” he says anticipating the worst.  
“Mr. Hotchner,”  
“Ms. Rodgers, what can I do for you?”  
“I’m calling about Emily, again,” she said, irritation obvious in her voice. Hotch lets out a deep sigh and starts the car, driving towards the courthouse.  
“What did she do this time?” He turns left on the road.  
“Emily decided it would be a good idea to put sticky notes all around my classroom. When I caught her in the act and told her to stop she continued. I’ve given her ISS but I do hope this behavior will not continue.”  
“I will talk to her, Ms. Rodgers.” He turns right.  
“Good because this is the second time this month. If her behavior continues we will be getting in contact with the principal and having a conference. Have a good day, Mr. Hotchner,” she says without meaning it.  
“You too, Ms. Rodgers,” Hotch says before ending the call and taking a few deep breaths. _One thing at a time_. He pulls up to the court house, collects his things and gets ready to put a murderer away for good.

***

Dr. Alex Blake arrived home after a long day of teaching at Georgetown with three of her kids in tow. Penelope and JJ ran upstairs to go play while Emily trailed behind. “Emily,” Blake started, motioning for Emily to join her at the table. The dinner table was a large circle made of mahogany wood. “I’m very disappointed in you but I’m not mad. I just wish you’d talk about what’s going on.”

“Nothing is going on!” Emily immediately became agitated. “Ms. Rodgers is a bitch and she deserved it. It’s not like I hurt anyone!”

“ First, watch your language. Second, that is not the point. The point is respect, Emily and until you understand that we will continue to be back at square one.” Emily crosses her arms and scuffs. Alex sighs.

“Look,” she begins, trying to keep her emotions in check. “I won’t yell at you, it won’t do any good. We will discuss this further when your father gets back. Go complete your homework, now.” Emily released a heavy sigh but complied, starting her trek up the stairs. Blake turns to watch her before focusing her attention to preparing dinner.

Meanwhile upstairs, JJ and Penelope are playing a very competitive game of uno. “Penny, you're cheating!” Exclams JJ, after having to draw 25 cards. 

“It’s not like I knew what cards I was gonna get, JJ,” Penelope said, raising her voice a little.

“Well, maybe Spence taught you how to count cards or something.”

“I would _never_ ask him to do that. I like to win fair and square.”

“You’re right,” JJ sighs, beginning to calm down. “I’m sorry I said that, this game brings out the worst in people,” JJ chuckles a little before returning to the game. “What were you and Kate doing while I was finishing my homework,” JJ asked while placing the red 6 on the upward facing deck.

“Kate showed me her new coding software.” She said with a smile.

“That sounds fun. Did you guys do anything else?” Said JJ, concentrating on the game more than her sister. 

“We went through her theatre box,” a bigger smile appeared. “It was really cool! Kate has done so many shows so the box was really heavy.”

JJ hums, still not really paying any attention to Penny’s retelling. She puts down a blue 7.

“Then, Kate showed me her baby animal video stash!” Penelope says, excitedly. Her smile grows even larger before she lets out a very, high pitched squeal. “They were so cute. I should have a stash so I can look at them when I’m sad.” She immediately goes unusually quiet. JJ tenses up a little, getting ready to brave the questions soon to be coming her way. “Do you think Spencer will be ok?” The sudden sadness apparent in her little sister’s voice cut right through JJ’s weak poker face.

“I,” she stops for a moment, trying to keep the tears at bay. “I don’t know. I know he’s strong but he lost his friend, in a very traumatic way. He will hurt and mourn for a while but he’ll come out stronger. We all will.” Spencer’s friend, Riley Jenkins, was found 3 months ago sexually assaulted and stabbed to death. His mother found the body in the basement, behind the washing machine.

When the news got out Spencer shut down. He withdrew from the kids and became conjoined to the adults. He started having nightmares so bad that he would stay up just to avoid them. Eventually, Hotch and Alex decided to put him in therapy. It’s a long road back but the house is finally developing a sense of normalcy. One can only hope it will last.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I will most likely skip a couple years after chapter three. Majority of the plot happens when the characters are a little older. These first three chapters are a introduction to the characters/relationships.


	2. Wednesday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The kids decided to be good today. Enjoy a little Hotch and kids fluff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s Wednesday...oh the irony.  
> I finally got this chapter done and out. This work will probably take a while but I won’t abandon it. However, WandaVision is slowly calling my attention and I’ve found myself brain storming more ideas for that than this. This is to be expected though, I have more than 10 unfinished projects lol.

“Hey, four-eyes,” George Foyet, an 8th grader, says to Spencer while walking towards him. Spencer panics and tries to ignore him. He had been in this situation before, but never with this kid. This kid was taller, older, and stronger than him. If a fight broke out he had no chance. Emily was a ways away, ranting about something to her friends. Derek was joking with his football buddies. He was supposed to be watching him but at some point Derek stopped looking over.  
“I’m talking to you,” George says, infiltrating his personal space Bubble. “You’re the freak with the robot brain, right?” Spencer hesitated before putting his book down and responding.  
“Yes.”  
“Where’s my homework?”  
“What?”  
“As smart as you are, you sure are stupid. So I’ll ask again. Where is my homework?”  
“I’ve never done your homework.”  
“Well you better start. I’d hate to see your dad give you back because you're such a disappointment.” George says while getting a little closer to Spencer. He twists Spencer’s arm. “That’s so you don’t forget.” George walks back towards his friends, Peter Lewis and Everett Lynch, right as Alex’s mini van pulls up.  
“Hey kid,” Derek says, motioning for Spencer to get in the van, with Emily right behind him. “You coming?” The youngest wakes from his dazed state and starts walking towards his siblings.

***

Hotch walks into the house with his briefcase and a tired look. He walks past the family room, poking his in to find JJ and Emily playing Just Dance on the Wii he got them for Christmas. JJ looks towards the entryway he's watching them from.  
“Dad, you’re home!” She runs towards him, arms open, with a smile on her face. Hotch kneels down and accepts her hug, a smile now replacing the frown he came in with. Emily pauses the game and walks towards him, giving him a fist bump once he’s done with JJ.  
“How was school today, girls?”  
“It was fun, we did a jeopardy game to review for the EOG and I got the most points,” JJ said, excited and proud.  
“That’s great, Pumpkin. I’m so proud of you.” He ruffles her hair a bit. “What about you, Princess? Did you have a good day?”  
“It was boring but I didn’t start anything. I’m trying to be good, at least for a while. Art club has helped.”  
“All we ask is for you try your best. I’m proud of you for not starting anything and I’m glad that Art club is helping.”  
“Thanks.” Emily turns around and walks back towards the tv. “JJ, get over here so I can win again.”  
“In your dreams, Em.”

Hotch watches his daughters play for a little longer before walking towards the study. He finds Alex cuddling with a half asleep Spencer on the couch by the bookshelf. She is reading The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury to him. She looks up from the book to greet the man when Spencer stirs. “Why did you stop reading?” Spencer says, sleep evident in his voice.  
“I thought you fell asleep.”  
“I was just resting my eyes.”  
“If you say so,” Alex says with a small chuckle. “Hey, look who’s here.” She gestures toward the door in front of them.  
“Dad!”  
“Hey, buddy.” Hotch drops to his level. “How was school today?”  
Spencer goes quiet, refusing to meet his eye. Hotch thought nothing of it, considering the kid just woke up. He was probably just tired. “It was fine.”  
“Just fine?” This also raised no alarms. His youngest had been giving answers like this for weeks. It was out of character when it started. This was the kid who would go on a rant about the history of spoons if you gave him the chance. Now it was somewhat of a normal thing. Not good, just normal. “You know you can tell your mom and I anything, right Scout?” Spencer looked distraught.  
“I know.”  
“Good.” He stands up. “I will leave you guys to it.” Hotch smiles at both Alex and their son before leaving to walk up the stairs.

He walks towards the first room on the left and knocks on the door. “Come in.” The voice of his oldest kid filters through the white door. Hotch opens it and walks towards Derek. The 7th grader was working on his math homework. “Hey, dad.” Derek looks at his dad for a second before going back to his worksheet.  
“Hey Wildcat, do you need any help with that?”  
“Nope, I asked Spencer earlier. He helped me understand the quadratic formula, he even taught me a song to help me remember.”  
“That’s good. I hope by help you didn’t mean do it for you.”  
Derek mocked offense. “Of course not. What kind of brother would I be if I did that?”  
“Funny.” Hotch cracked a smile but was not amused.  
“Come on man, lighten up, it was just a joke.” Hotch ignored the last comment and asked about school. “Same old, same old. Practice was good today though.” Hotch nodded and walked towards the door.  
“Please finish that before dinner, Derek.”  
“I can’t make any promises.” Hotch rolled his eyes, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.

He walked across the width of the hallway to His youngest daughter’s room. “Penelope, sweetheart, I’m coming in.” he knocked twice before walking in. He found her on the floor with Emily’s phone, watching animal videos.  
“Dad, look at the baby pandas! They’re so cute!” He walked over and sat down next to her.  
“They are, aren’t they?”  
“Do you want to see someone more? Emily let me save a lot of them. Katie said looking at cute animals helps the sadness go away.” Hotch frowned at his youngest daughter.  
“Why are you sad, sweetheart?” Penelope looked up at her dad before proceeding to crawl into his lap, engulfing him in a hug.  
“I just missed you.” Hotch didn’t completely believe her but didn't push, knowing how sensitive she was. She would come to him on her own.  
“Of course,” he responded to her earlier question to watch more. He settled into the floor, cuddling the eight-year-old and laughing at the second round of cat videos. The files could wait until later, right now his daughter needed him.

***

Aaron, Alex, and the kids were all sitting down to dinner in the dining room. Spencer was punishing his potatoes around with his fork, the rest of his plate remained untouched. The table noticed but said nothing. “Derek, do you want to start? One good thing, one bad thing.” Everyday the family would say one good thing and one bad thing about the day they’ve had.  
“Sure, I got an A on my English test today and I got nothing bad to say.”  
“Derek, honey, it’s either I’ve got or I have,” Alex immediately countered  
“Get him, mom,” Emily laughed. “For someone who just got an A on their English test, your English is terrible.” Emily laughed harder. “Gosh, Derek, what did you do, cheat.”  
“It’s not that funny, Emily.” Derek said, now facing the hysterical brunette sitting beside him.  
“I think it is.”  
“Both of you, stop it, now.” Hotch tried and failed to stifle a laugh.  
“You laughed,” Emily exaggeratedly pointed at him. “You think it’s funny too.”  
“No, I do not.”  
“Yes, you do.”  
“Emily,” Alex says, ending the playful back-and-forth.  
“Ok, ok, I’ll stop.” Emily goes back to her food.  
Hotch, having stopped laughing, returns his attention to the table. “We will go clockwise, so Penelope you’re up.”  
“My good thing is watch animal videos with dad.” Hotch smiled at the blonde sitting to the right of Derek.  
“I enjoyed that too, sweetheart. Anything bad today?”  
“No.” Hotch sighed internally, whatever was bothering his daughter would come out eventually. He just had to trust that it would.  
“Well, it’s always a good day when you have nothing bad to say. Spencer?”  
“I got to make a diorama of the trenches from World War One. The trenches were made for soldiers to hide in but they were often filled with water, mud and bodies. Many of the soldiers developed what’s known as “soldier’s foot” and died from infection.”  
“What does it look-.”  
“Don’t,” Alex stopped JJ from asking. “You don’t want to know. Especially not at the dinner table. I want dinner to stay down and not come back up.” JJ nodded in understanding and went back to her food.  
“Wait, kid, isn’t the trenches an 8th grade project?” Derek asked, suspicious.  
“Umm,” Spencer stalled to get his story straight. “The teachers let me do it because I’m so ahead” Derek nodded understandingly. His baby brother was unearthly smart for his age, so it made sense.

Alex, Hotch, JJ and Emily talked about the highs and lows of their respective days, finishing the circle. The table eased into light banter between siblings, excited rants, and random silence until dinner was done. 

When the others went to their respective areas of the house for the last hour of free time before bed, Emily and Hotch stayed down stairs. Hotch worked on some files in the study while Emily cleaned up the kitchen as part of her punishment from Monday’s behavior. 

***

As 8 o’clock rolled around the Hotchner house grew quiet as the kids started to wind down for the night. The younger kids’ bed time was 8:30 and the older kids’ was 9:30. With JJ being the middle child her bed time was 9:00. 

Alex was at the end of making her rounds while Hotch had just started. Derek’s room was the first on his way down the hall. Hotch opened the door just enough to stick his head in. “Goodnight, Wildcat.” Derek was in bed but he wasn’t asleep.  
“Night, dad.” Hotch lingered for a bit before closing the door and walking across, passing the stairs. He opened the door to Penelope’s, very pink, room.  
“Goodnight, sweetheart.”  
“Goodnight, dad. I hope you dream of nice things tonight, like how much I love you.” Hotch smiled. He smiled a lot today. Smiling was a rare occurrence for him, but today was proving that theory wrong.  
“I love you too, Penelope.”

He stayed on the right side, passing the bathroom before getting to Emily’s room. Her room was exceedingly plain for an art kid. Most of the walls were newly painted a light grey as of July. The grey replaced the cherry red that carried her through elementary. The change occurred a month before 6th grade started with Emily claiming she needed something more “grown up”.

In an effort to slow down the changes middle school brings, Aaron and Alex convinced her to leave one wall untouched. The lonely red wall acted as an accent wall to add a pop of color to the otherwise grim room. Her room was like Derek’s minus the red wall, his was dark blue. 

The walls had no pictures of her friends, no fairy lights like JJ, no clusters of books like Spencer, no trophies like Derek, and no posters like Penelope. It looked like how she was feeling inside, numb.

“Goodnight, Emily.”  
“Night.” He walked out of her room, crossed the hall, and finished his good nights. He poked his head into JJ’s mint green room, all lights were off except the fairy light above her bed.  
“Goodnight, pumpkin.”  
“Goodnight, dad. See you tomorrow.” Last was Spencer’s room. Judging by the flicker of a light once he got close to the door, he knew his son was awake.

He stepped into the room and kneeled by the bed. “Hey, buddy. Why are you still up?”  
“Can’t sleep.”  
“Would you like me to read to you.”  
“Just until I fall asleep.”  
“Ok, bud. Which book?”  
“Can you read me The Illustrated Man?”  
“Of course, Spencer.” 

Both boys fell asleep reading. Only to be found by Alex with her phone out, ready to fill her otherwise empty camera roll with the scene in front of her


	3. Friday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A family fluff chapter :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don’t know if this warrants a trigger warning but just in case. TW: brief reference to prior deaths, abuse, neglect.  
> It’s a about five sentences in one paragraph and doesn’t go into detail at all.

JJ sat on the couch, watching tv. Derek and Emily were still at school doing their respective extracurriculars, Spencer was reading in his room, and Alex took Penelope out to get craft supplies. JJ sighed, missing the constant sound of chaos having four siblings brought to the house. She turned the tv off and walked to the study where Hotch had hunkered down to work, utilizing the quiet.

The study was tan with one navy blue wall. The colored wall had everyone's accomplishments, framed, and arranged in the shape of a heptagon. That was Spencer’s idea. He said it was because there are seven of them and a heptagon is a seven sided shape. The heptagon had Alex’s doctorate and teacher’s license, Hotch’s law license and degree, and Spencer’s three awards deeming him a certified genius. The heptagon would grow as the kids did, each earning something to show for their hard work.

“Hey, dad?” JJ cautiously entered the room. She knew he was working and did want to disturb him but she needed to sit with him.  
“Yes, JJ.” Hotch looked up from his current file and smiled at her, beckoning her to come towards him. “What is it? Is something wrong?”  
“No, I just,” JJ trailed off. She couldn’t say what was really bothering her. She didn’t want to worry him, he already had one kid in therapy. “It’s nothing, really. I just thought you could use the company.” She smiled at him, it didn’t reach her eyes. He could tell something was wrong but he wouldn't push. They’ve all been through a lot.  
“Do you want to sit in here?”  
“Can I?”  
“Of course, pumpkin.” Hotch when back to his file. JJ sat in the two seater across from the desk. It was stationed in between the door and the bookshelf. She fidgeted with the golden heart locket around her neck and settled back into the couch.

***  
After searching for a solid 20 minutes, Alex was finally able to find a parking spot. She got out of the car, grabbed the reusable shopping bag, and opened the car door for Penelope. They held hands and walked into the Micheals craft store.

“Mom, look!” Penelope pointed excitedly at the fake plants. “We should get some plants and flowers to decorate with.”  
“What would we be decorating,” Alex said, entertaining her daughter’s excitement. Penelope paused, thinking hard.  
“I know we’ll figure out something.” Alex smiled and gently moved her child towards the paint aisle.  
“Let’s get everything we came for first, then, if you still want them we can get a few. Okay?”  
“Okay!” Penelope quickly went through products on the aisle, looking for the specific paint colors she needed.

The pair came to buy paint supplies for Penelope’s end-of-year project but as expected, they left with crochet items and fake plants in addition to what they came for. Before Alex could drag her youngest daughter to the checkout line, Penelope ran off towards the sketch books. _This is going to be a long shopping trip_ , she thought before following her energetic daughter.

***  
Spencer emerges from his room after an hour and misses his family. He walks downstairs and into the family room, moving close to the wall under the stair banister. His heart instantly warms.

Following the descending pattern of the stairs, there are ten framed pictures. Five individual pictures of each kid, arranged from oldest to youngest, and under those were their adoption certificates.

Derek was adopted first. His dad was killed on duty which caused his mom to go off the deep end. Emily was adopted second. Her parents were ambassadors and travelled a lot. They didn’t want to take care of her and gave her up. JJ was adopted third. After her parents divorce and the passing of her sister, the family couldn’t take care of her anymore. Penelope was adopted fourth, her parents were killed in a car crash and the system separated her from her half-brothers. Spencer was the last kid Co-parents adopted. His dad left after he was born and his mother has schizophrenia. After her second attempt to kill him because she thought he was a spy, CPS took him.

-

Alex and Aaron were just two friends who wanted to help some kids get out of the foster system and now they could be happier with the family they’ve put together.

They went to the same college and became fast friends. When Aaron’s wife and son died, she was there for him. So when she posed the idea of adopting, Hotch couldn’t say no. Now looking back, he wouldn’t trade this for the world.

***  
As per weekly tradition, Friday nights are family game nights. “What game do you guys want to play this week?” Hotch asks while sifting through the clear, plastic box next to the tv.  
“What about _The Game of Life_ ,” Penelope suggests, stopping her conversion with Derek to fight for her favorite game.  
“We played that game last week,” Emily shouts from the kitchen, helping Alex make popcorn.  
“Yeah, but it’s the best game.”  
“I don’t know about that, baby girl,” Derek sits up on the couch. “I think the best game is monopoly.”  
“What about _S_ _crabble_?” Alex suggests as herself and Emily walk into the family room, popcorn bowls in hand. Emily scuffs.  
“No one wants to play _Scrabble_ , mom.” Emily walks to the couch, moving Derek’s legs before sitting next to him. She put her feet on his lap and handed him the bowl of popcorn she was holding. Happy with the trade, Derek let his sister keep her feet on him and grabbed a handful of popcorn.  
“Save some for the rest of us, Derek.” JJ jokes, carrying seven waters from the kitchen and handing them out.  
“We have two bowls, there’s enough to go around.”

Hotch pulls _The Game of Life_ , _Monopoly_ , and _Scrabble_ from the box. “Let’s choose a game so we can get started. It’s already 8:30 and I know this game will take us at least 2 hours.” Hotch stands in front of the group, covering the tv. “How many votes for _Scrabble_?” Alex and Spencer raise their hands. “ _Monopoly_?” JJ, Emily, and Derek raise their hands. “ _The Game of Life_?” Penelope and JJ raised their hands.  
“You can’t vote twice, JJ.” Emily reminds her sister.  
“I know, but I like both games.”  
“Well, you have to pick one.” Hotch tells his daughter, emphasizing the need to pick just one game.  
“Ok,” JJ thinks for a moment before deciding. “I choose _Monopoly_.”  
“Yes!” Emily and Derek both exclaim before high-fiving each other.  
“No.” Penelope pouts.  
“Penelope,” Hotch started. “Since we played your game last week, isn’t it only fair that we play a different game this week?” Penelope sighed.  
“I guess”  
“Good. So it’s settled then, tonight we battle it out in _Monopoly_.” Hotch puts the other two games back in the box before putting the lid on. He sits the _Monopoly_ box in the middle of the area between the tv and coffee table. Everyone begins to take their places around the board game with Alex and Derek grabbing the bowls of popcorn.

About 30 minutes into the game, there have already been five attempts to cheat, three threats to quit, and two fights between various family members. Hotch sighed deeply, starting to get a headache from all the noise. Spencer had curled into him a while ago, trying to combat it as well .

Emily, the banker, had been caught slipping herself some money several times. While this was happening, Derek was giving Penelope money when she started to run out. The youngest sister hadn’t yet figured out a money strategy that worked. After seeing Derek do this, JJ called him out and a battle of morality broke out between the two. Spencer stayed relatively quiet, only giving money saving advice to those who needed it. It was way past his bedtime and the school day had already tired him out. Alex tried to keep the fighting to a minimum while Hotch just held Spencer, focusing on keeping a poker face. It normally wasn’t hard for him but watching his family interact gave him great joy despite the chaos. He loved family game night.


End file.
